Friday, June 26, 2015

This week required some special shopping for our trip to Maine. We are staying with friends, so I didn't have to worry about meals this week, just snacks, and food for Howard. Super Easy! We picked most of that stuff up at ALDI, but it came out of our vacation budget, so I'm not going to post that trip here. I used up a few rain checks at CVS, and combined e-coupons, with store coupons, and manufacturer coupons at Giant for some AWESOME savings! Here's how our shopping went...

Monday, June 15, 2015

This week was a great stocking up week! We got lots of great deals on things I have had on my 'need to stock up during the next sale' list for awhile. I also managed to pick up some meats and produce! Here's how the week worked out...

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

I wanted to share some of the items that I have been finding at yard sales this Spring. Yard sale-ing is how we supplement the hand-me-downs that make up most of Howard's wardrobe, and where we find some fun things that we can actually afford. One yard sale provided this haul...

The shirts, pants, and sleeper for Howard are all toddler sizes that he will grow into. The shirts and pants are in mint condition, and are nice enough for him to wear to church. All of the clothes were a $1 each, which is the same price they are on half price day at the thrift store we frequent. The thrift store does not always have such mint clothing, and I am also finding it very difficult to find the footed sleepers in the larger sizes. The Peacock napkin holder is actually from Italy and is silver plated. I picked it up for my desk to hold the bills until the beginning of the month when I pay them. The plastic horseshoe set we picked up to leave in the car for Howard. That way when we stop for our picnic lunches, he can play with that. The new baby book is to put away for now, but for $0.50, I couldn't pass that up. The DVD is actually a turn the page type movie, so he can follow along with the actual book if he wants. Lastly, the soap saver is just really cool. I picked it up for the laundry room. I'm not sure I'm going to use it yet, but we'll see.

1 Heater $2

1 Fan $1

1 Baby Mirror $1

1 pair Car Seat Strap Covers $0.75

2 Toddler-sized Footed PJ's $2

7 Comedy Cd's $5

Grand Total: $11.75

These sales were a different weekend. We stumbled across a few things for our house, and our trip to Maine. Joe wanted the comedy Cd's to listen to while he drives at night. We got 7 of those. I also found two more footed PJ's for Howard. I finally got him a mirror for the car, and a pair of strap covers for his one car seat we bought used. Joe got an organizer for sockets, a spare heater in case ours dies, and a fan for his grandfather's house.

Have any of you been yard sale-ing recently? What great deals have you found?

This week is filled with work, errand running, packing to go on vacation to Maine next week, and the other everyday stuff we normally have. Needless to say, things are going to be crazy! So, I'm not doing a formal menu plan this week, but I thought I'd still share what's in the works this week for meals...

May was another crazy month! I do feel as though I have accomplished a LOT this month, even if it was small things that only got crossed off the daily goal list and not this one. Progress was definitely made though! Here's how May went, goal-wise...

Household:

De-clutter the whole house in January, February, and March -- Done!

Do a Deep-Spring, and Deep-Fall Clean in March and November As well as
keep up with my weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly cleaning chores. -- I managed to stay caught up on all of my cleaning tasks, as well as the laundry!

Paint the Windows/Sills/Trim in the Kitchen and Nursery. -- Still hasn't happen yet. Unless we get a cool day this month, it probably won't happen until Fall, when I can open the windows and not cook for the heat.

Family:

Write a 'love letter' to Joe each month -- Done, and he loved it!

Take a trip to Maine in June with the hubby, and Howard. --N/A

Take a Trip to Ocean City in August -- N/A

Get together with family at least once a month -- We got together with a few of our friends in May, but we didn't get together with either of our families. It seemed like everytime we had something planned, things would come up here at the museum, or I'd have to work, or someone was sick. But hopefully June will allow some extended family time!

Plan and Execute Howard's 1st Birthday Party -- Done!

Blogging:

Have 2 Freezer/Pantry Challenges (January and July), post updates on the blog, and defrost the chest freezer -- N/A

Post my Menu Plan, and Weekly Spending Report every
week, along with at least 1 other post per week. This may be an update,
a reveal, a recipe, a shopping trip, some Aldi Deals, or a frugal find. -- This month I did a great job with posting my Weekly Spending Reports, and my Menu Plans every week. However, I didn't really post much else. I did post one ALDI Deals post, but that was it. I do have some things planned for June, so hopefully that will help in actually getting the posts posted.

Plan and execute a 31 days post for October. -- N/A

Health:

Lose at least 20 lbs -- We won't discuss this again this month. I've enlisted the help of my Dr, so hopefully by next month I will have lost some more weight!

Drink plenty of water, eat healthy, and do exercise of some kind everyday. -- I have been doing this every day, which makes not meeting the previous goal even more upsetting. But I will continue to trudge along, and hopefully June will show me some progress!

Budget/Income:

Do at least 5 Flea Markets throughout the year, and list at least bi-monthly on Amazon/Facebook Yard Sale. -- Joe set up at a tool show in May! Finally we can add another flea market to our total! We won't be setting up again until August, so I have 2 months to prep for that. 2 Flea Market done to date.

Earn Swagbucks everyday by completing the daily poll, toolbar log-in, and NOSO offers daily. (Try to earn $10 a month) -- I'm up to 1,506 swagbucks, only 694 more and I can cash in for the $25 reward! I am hoping that June will be the month!

Set a monthly budget, and coupon and deal shop as needed to stay within our budget. --I did an excellent job staying under budget for the month! I found some great deals, as well as got the things we needed for a good price. I posted my budget update here.

Put at least an extra $100 a month on Joe's Credit Card starting in May -- I did do this, I actually put an extra $200 on the credit card because I wasn't sure I would have the money in June to do it. So I'm looking at it like I'm a month ahead, in case the extra money just isn't there one month.

Hobby-Related:

Scan the huge-a** box of photos we have had since my mom died two
and a half years ago, and get them sorted to give to people, as well as
put the ones I decide to keep in albums. -- I'm not even planning to work in this until later in the year, July maybe, or possibly not until Fall, we'll see.

Continue to work on Howard's baby book

Try something new at least once a month and blog about it. I have a
LOT of new recipes and crafts I want to try --Yeah, this didn't happen again. I just lack time, and energy! I have 2 new recipes planned for this week, so hopefully I'll get to make them and get a post written about them! :-)

Monday, June 8, 2015

This week was another great week for spending and saving. It was the beginning of the month, which always brings a whole list of needed items. Plus, Howard is eating us out of house and home, and he's only 1! I thought I had until the teenage years to worry about that, but nope, he can eat huge portions of cheese, yogurt, and meats. Also, some fruits, and a few vegetables, so typical kid fare :-) Here's how the weekend went...

Sunday's CVS Trip: $9.48 oop, Earned $4.75 ECB's

Sunday's ALDI Trip: $38.17 oop

Sunday's Staples Trip (no picture, just a small bin and a 2-pk pk ink): $2.96 oop

Monday, June 1, 2015

May was a good spending month, mainly because I came out under budget! I love it when that happens, especially when I can look back over the month and know that I got a LOT of great deals and needed items. It reminds me that I can provide for my family very well, even on our strict budget. Here's how May panned out...

Week #1: $2.12 oop, Earned $0 (This week came out of the last of the April money after the budget fiasco)

This week was a great week for shopping. There weren't a large amount of deals to be had, but the ones I got were good! We also needed quite a few things for meals and snacks this week, so that's mostly what I purchased. Here's how the week looked...

This week starts a new month full of all sorts of fun and demanding things. There is work, and teas, shopping, and cooking, packing, and a vacation. So needless to say, things are a little crazy right now, but so far, things have also been manageable. The weather has heated up here in Maryland, and I think that the summertime humidity is here to stay! I decided to keep things cool and simple in the kitchen this week, here's what's cookin'...

About Me

I have been happily married to my husband Joe for 9 years now. Our son, Howard was born in April 2014, and he is our everything! We are the caretakers of a museum and volunteer there regularly as well. We are trying to get our debt under control, while living a happy life. I share my simple, frugal journey, including deals, recipes, and DIY's, through my neighborhood here!